Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0276241 (MCF)
 28,353 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

As several aromatase inhibitors are now available for treating breast cancer, we developed a model system to compare their antitumor efficacy and to explore strategies for their optimal use. Tumors are grown in ovariectomized, immunodeficient mice from MCF-7 human breast cancer cells transfected with the aromatase gene (MCF-7Ca) and can therefore synthesize as well as respond to estrogen. Results from this model have been predictive of clinical outcome. Thus, inhibiting estrogen action and estrogen synthesis by treating mice with the aromatase inhibitor letrozole and the antiestrogen tamoxifen in combination did not result in synergy. Moreover, when tamoxifen treatment was no longer effective, tumor growth was significantly reduced in response to sequential letrozole treatment. However, our findings indicate that letrozole alone was better than all other treatments. Although letrozole resulted in long sustained growth inhibition, tumors eventually grew despite continued treatment. Mechanisms of resistance to letrozole were investigated during the course of treatment. ER was initially upregulated in responding tumors, but subsequently decreased below control levels in tumors no longer responsive to letrozole. Her-2 as well as adapter proteins (p-Shc and Grb-2) and signaling proteins in the MAPK cascade (p-Raf, p-Mekl/2, and p-MAPK), were all increased in letrozole resistant tumors. In LTLT cells, isolated from the letrozole resistant tumors and treated with inhibitors of the MAPKinase pathway, MAPK activity was decreased and ER expression restored to control levels. Inhibitors of EGFR/Her-2 also restored the sensitivity of LTLT cells to letrozole. These results suggest that crosstalk occurs between ER and tyrosine kinase receptor signaling. Therefore, to investigate whether down-regulating ER would prevent activation of MAPK and resistance to letrozole, xenografts were treated with letrozole and faslodex in combination. Her-2 and MAPK were not increased and tumor growth was inhibited throughout 29 weeks of treatment. These results suggest that blocking both ER and growth factor mediated transcription may delay development of resistance to letrozole and maintain its growth inhibition of breast cancer.
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PMID:Xenograft models for aromatase inhibitor studies. 1761 Nov 1

Acquired resistance is a major problem limiting the clinical benefit of endocrine therapy. To investigate the mechanisms involved, two in vitro models were developed from MCF-7 cells. Long-term culture of MCF-7 cells in estrogen deprived medium (LTED) mimics aromatase inhibition in patients. Continued exposure of MCF-7 to tamoxifen represents a model of acquired resistance to antiestrogens (TAM-R). Long-term estrogen deprivation results in sustained activation of the ERK MAP kinase and the PI3 kinase/mTOR pathways. Using a novel Ras inhibitor, farnesylthiosalicylic acid (FTS), to achieve dual inhibition of the pathways, we found that the mTOR pathway plays the primary role in mediation of proliferation of LTED cells. In contrast to the LTED model, there is no sustained activation of ERK MAPK but enhanced responsiveness to rapid stimulation induced by E(2) and TAM in TAM-R cells. An increased amount of ERalpha formed complexes with EGFR and c-Src in TAM-R cells, which apparently resulted from extra-nuclear redistribution of ERalpha. Blockade of c-Src activity drove ERalpha back to the nucleus and reduced ERalpha-EGFR interaction. Prolonged blockade of c-Src activity restored sensitivity of TAM-R cells to tamoxifen. Our results suggest that different mechanisms are involved in acquired endocrine resistance and the necessity for individualized treatment of recurrent diseases.
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PMID:Mechanisms of acquired resistance to endocrine therapy in hormone-dependent breast cancer cells. 1761 57

Cancer of the breast is the most common form of malignant disease occurring among women of the western world and environmental substances seem to be involved in the etiology of this disease. Many studies have found an association between human cancer and exposure to agricultural pesticides and among them parathion, the organophosphorous pesticide used in agriculture to control mosquito plagues. The association between breast cancer and prolonged exposure to estrogens suggests that this hormone also may have a role in such process. However, the causative factors for breast carcinogenesis remain an enigma. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of 17beta-estradiol (E2) and parathion on cell transformation of human breast epithelial cells in vitro. The results of this study showed that parathion alone and in combination with E2 induced malignant transformation of an immortalized human breast epithelial cell line, MCF-10F, and the malignant feature was confirmed by anchorage independency and invasive capabilities. Parathion alone efficiently elevated the expression of EGFR, c-Kit, Trio, Rac 3, Rho-A, and mutant p53 proteins. Analysis of gene expression using commercially available human cell cycle array revealed transcriptional alterations in 22 out of a total of 96 genes. Among them, nine genes involved in the regulation of cell cycle were altered. These included cyclins (A1, A2, C, G1, G2, and H), cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), and minichromosome maintenance deficient (MCM). Results suggest that parathion has the potency to cause malignant transformation of breast epithelial cells through modulation of expression of cell cycle regulated genes.
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PMID:Gene and protein expressions induced by 17beta-estradiol and parathion in cultured breast epithelial cells. 1762 25

Focal adhesion kinase, FAK is a 125 kDa nonreceptor tyrosine kinase that localizes to focal adhesions. FAK is overexpressed in human tumors and regulates cellular adhesion and survival signaling. We have shown previously that the dominant-negative FAK, C-terminal FAK-CD, caused detachment and apoptosis in human breast cancer cells, and that overexpression of an activated form of Src tyrosine kinase or epidermal growth factor receptor, EGFR, suppressed FAK-CD induced apoptotic effects in breast cancer cells. In the present study, we studied the effect of a novel FAK inhibitor, TAE226 (Novartis, Inc.), on the breast cancer cell lines. We used stable breast cancer cell lines overexpressing Src (MCF-7-Src and BT474-Src) or overexpressing EGFR (BT474-EGFR), and control breast cancer cell lines for the treatment with different doses of TAE226 drug. The detachment and apoptosis caused by TAE226 was analyzed and compared with the effect of the dominant-negative adenoviral FAK-CD. The TAE226 drug caused a dose-dependent increase of detachment and apoptosis in both BT474 and MCF-7-Vector and Src cells and in BT474-EGFR and BT474-pcDNA3 cells. Additionally, TAE226 caused downregulation of Y397-FAK, FAK and activation of PARP or caspase-3 proteins. Both Src and EGFR-overexpressing cells were not resistant to the TAE226 treatment compared to FAK-CD treatment. In addition, normal breast MCF-10A cell line was resistant to both TAE226 drug and to the Ad-FAK-CD inhibitor. Thus, inhibition of autophosphorylation activity of FAK with the TAE226 inhibitor at 10-20 microM is effective in causing apoptosis in breast cancer cells, resistant to the Ad-FAK-CD inhibitor that can be used effectively in therapy.
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PMID:TAE226-induced apoptosis in breast cancer cells with overexpressed Src or EGFR. 1784 51

Protein microarrays allow highly accurate comparison and quantification of numerous biological samples in parallel while requiring only little material. This qualifies protein arrays for systems biology and clinical research where only limited sample material is available, but a precise readout is required. With the introduction of signal normalization steps to monitor the drop size of manually contact-spotted RP protein arrays, the usefulness of normalizer proteins to ensure a high-throughput but inexpensive protein analysis was demonstrated. This approach was applied for the analysis of signaling through ERBB receptor activated kinases in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7. Activation of ERK1/2 and AKT by ERBB1 (EGFR), ERRB2 (HER2/neu), and ERBB3-4 was monitored in a time-resolved manner. Analysis of pathway activation by stimulation with epidermal growth factor and heregulin, or inhibition by blocking with gefitinib or herceptin allowed a characterization of the distinct signaling properties of the different ERBB receptor subtypes.
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PMID:Contact spotting of protein microarrays coupled with spike-in of normalizer protein permits time-resolved analysis of ERBB receptor signaling. 1835 92

Exemestane-resistant breast cancer cell lines (i.e., ExeR), derived from MCF-7 cells expressing a high level of aromatase (MCF-7aro), were generated in our laboratory. The epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like protein amphiregulin (AREG) was highly expressed in ExeR cells based on cDNA microarray analysis. The high levels of AREG mRNA in ExeR cell lines were confirmed by real-time reverse transcription-PCR. The high levels of AREG protein in ExeR cell lysates and culture media were confirmed by Western blot analysis and ELISA, respectively. Furthermore, our Western blot analysis showed that whereas no AREG was detected in the DMSO control, overnight treatment of parental MCF-7aro cells with 1 micromol/L exemestane strongly induced the expression of AREG. This induction was totally blocked by 100 nmol/L of pure antiestrogen ICI 182,780, implying estrogen receptor (ER) dependence of exemestane-induced AREG expression. MCF-7aro cells were not able to proliferate in hormone-free medium, but were able to proliferate in conditioned medium from ExeR cells, similar to the treatment of recombinant human AREG. Small interference RNA targeting AREG inhibited ExeR proliferation, confirming that AREG is truly functioning as a growth factor of ExeR cells. The specific inhibitors to ER (ICI 182,780), EGF receptor (EGFR; AG1478), and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK; U0126) all showed dose-dependent suppression of the proliferation of ExeR cells, indicating the involvement of the ER, EGFR, and MAPK pathways. Based on these findings, we propose a possible mechanism that underlies exemestane resistance: exemestane induces AREG in an ER-dependent manner. AREG then activates the EGFR pathway and leads to the activation of the MAPK pathway that drives cell proliferation.
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PMID:The role of amphiregulin in exemestane-resistant breast cancer cells: evidence of an autocrine loop. 1838 32

Seven fulvestrant resistant cell lines derived from the estrogen receptor alpha positive MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line were used to investigate the importance of epidermal growth factor receptor (ErbB1-4) signaling. We found an increase in mRNA expression of EGFR and the ErbB3/ErbB4 ligand heregulin2 (hrg2) and a decrease of ErbB4 in all resistant cell lines. Western analyses confirmed the upregulation of EGFR and hrg2 and the downregulation of ErbB4. Elevated activation of EGFR and ErbB3 was seen in all resistant cell lines and the ErbB3 activation occurred by an autocrine mechanism. ErbB4 activation was observed only in the parental MCF-7 cells. The downstream kinases pAkt and pErk were increased in five of seven and in all seven resistant cell lines, respectively. Treatment with the EGFR inhibitor gefitinib preferentially inhibited growth and reduced the S phase fraction in the resistant cell lines concomitant with inhibition of Erk and unaltered Akt activation. In concert, inhibition of Erk with U0126 preferentially reduced growth of resistant cell lines. Treatment with ErbB3 neutralizing antibodies inhibited ErbB3 activation and resulted in a modest but statistically significant growth inhibition of two resistant cell lines. These data indicate that ligand activated ErbB3 and EGFR, and Erk signaling play important roles in fulvestrant resistant cell growth. Furthermore, the decreased level of ErbB4 in resistant cells may facilitate heterodimerization of ErbB3 with EGFR and ErbB2. Our data support that a concerted action against EGFR, ErbB2 and ErbB3 may be required to obtain complete growth suppression of fulvestrant resistant cells.
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PMID:Activation of ErbB3, EGFR and Erk is essential for growth of human breast cancer cell lines with acquired resistance to fulvestrant. 1840 71

It has been reported that HER2 level is strongly correlated with the expression of MMP-7 in some carcinomas. HER2 is a preferred heterodimerization partner of EGFR, HER3, and HER4. HER2 overexpression is believed to enhance the signaling from these receptors in response to binding of their specific ligands. In this study, we show that heregulin-beta (HRG-beta) stimulation remarkably induced MMP-7 promoter activity and significantly enhanced the expression and activity of MMP-7 in MCF-7 cells overexpressing HER2. The expression of c-Jun and c-Fos and the level of the phosphorylated c-Jun were markedly increased after HRG-beta treatment in MCF-7/HER2 cells. Increased MMP-7 promoter activity was observed in MCF-7/c-Jun cells. The activity of the MMP-7 promoter induced by HRG-beta in MCF-7/HER2 cells could be inhibited by a dominant negative c-Jun mutant TAM67 and by the mutagenesis of the AP-1 site. c-Jun binding to MMP-7 promoter was confirmed by ChIP assays. The data indicate a close link among HRG-beta stimulation, HER signaling, and AP-1 activation. Our data suggest that HRG-beta-induced MMP-7 expression was regulated by HER2-mediated AP-1 activation in MCF-7 cells.
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PMID:Heregulin-beta promotes matrix metalloproteinase-7 expression via HER2-mediated AP-1 activation in MCF-7 cells. 1860 Apr 30

Previous studies have demonstrated that monospecific antisense oligonucleotides (oligos) directed against mRNA encoding proteins associated with tumor growth, death, and survival are efficacious against breast and prostate tumors. Targeted proteins, associated with different signal transduction pathways, have included transforming growth factor-alpha [TGF-alpha (MR(1))], its binding site the epidermal growth factor receptor [EGFR (MR(2))] sharing sequence homology to the breast cancer prognostic marker Her-2/neu, an apoptosis inhibiting protein [bcl-2 (MR(4))], and the androgen receptor [AR (MR(5))]. In attempts to enhance antisense therapy, recent reports describe how two of the binding sites mentioned above can be sequentially placed within a single complementary (bispecific) strand and administered either in the presence or absence of additional therapeutic agents. When tested against breast and prostate tumor cell lines specific differences were noted: MCF-7 breast cancer cells were more receptive to the inhibitory effects of monospecific oligos, whereas PC-3 and LNCaP prostate cells were particularly responsive to bispecifics. In an effort to identify agents which enhance the activity of oligos and which possess less toxicity than traditionally employed chemotherapeutics, Rapamycin, an immunosuppressive agent known to regulate tumor growth and signal transduction mediated by the mTOR receptor, is compared to paclitaxel in combination therapy employing monospecific or bispecific oligos. Bispecifics were constructed recognizing the binding sites for TGF-alpha and EGFR mRNA [TGF-alpha/EGFR (MR(12)) and EGFR/TGF-alpha (MR(21))]; another pair recognized binding sites for EGFR and bcl-2 [EGFR/bcl-2 (MR(24)) and bcl-2/EGFR (MR(42))]; while a third pair employed only against the LNCaP prostate cell line recognized bcl-2 and the androgen receptor [bcl-2/AR (MR4(45)) and AR/bcl-2 (MR(54))]. Oligo pairs differ in their 5'-3' linear binding site orientations, and were tested in vitro against MCF-7 breast and PC-3 and LNCaP prostate tumor cell lines. Following cell attachment, incubations were done for 2 days with the agents followed by 2 days in their absence. Five experiments evaluated the effect of monospecific or bispecific antisense oligos in combination with an LD(50) dosage of either Rapamycin or paclitaxel and led to the conclusion that although these agents act via different mechanisms, they are comparable in effectiveness.
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PMID:Multigene targeting of signal transduction pathways for the treatment of breast and prostate tumors: comparison between combination therapies employing bispecific oligonucleotides with either Rapamycin or Paclitaxel. 1868 47

A series of 6, 7-dialkoxy-4-anilinoquinazolines were designed, synthesized by substituting different heterocycles on 6-position and a variety of anilines on 4-position of the quinazoline. These novel quinazoline compounds were screened for their cytotoxic effect on epidermal growth factor receptor overexpressing skin epidermoid carcinoma cell line (A431), by using nonoverexpressing tumor cells as negative control (breast adeno carcinoma cell line MCF-7). 2-Butyl-4-chloro-1-{3-[7-methoxy-4-(3-(trifluoromethyl)phenylamino)quinazolin-6-yloxy]-propyl}-1H-imidazole-5-carboxaldehyde (30) and 2-butyl-4-chloro-1-{3-[4-(3-iodophenyl amino)-7-methoxyquinazolin-6-yloxy]propyl}-1H-imidazole-5-carboxaldehyde (33) were found to be more potent against A431 cell line (IC(50) 3.5 and 3 microM) and their activities are comparable to gefitinib. Insilico docking experiments with human EGFR Tyrosine kinase domain (PDB id-2gs2) indicated that 33 docks at the same position as that of gefitinib involving Val702, Ala719, Ser696, and Lys721.
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PMID:Synthesis and in vitro antitumor activities of novel 4-anilinoquinazoline derivatives. 1877 19


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